Assad to 'end' violence; envoys recalled

DAMASCUS, Syria, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Russia said Syria vowed to "end" the violence as Assad-regime forces pounded Homs for a fifth day, and European and Persian Gulf states recalled their envoys.

"We have had a very productive visit with the leadership of Syria," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday after he and Mikhail Fradkov, director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus.

"We have confirmed our preparedness to facilitate a rapid end to the crisis based on the positions set out in the Arab League initiative," Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti news agency quoted Lavrov as saying. "In particular, the president of Syria gave assurance that he is fully committed to an end to violence, no matter its source."

He did not say if Assad explained how he intended to end the violence.

Syria's Interior Ministry pledged Tuesday to put an end to "armed terrorist gangs" it said were operating in the western Syrian city of Homs.

The regime claims it is battling terrorism, not a popular uprising.

"Operations to hunt down terrorist groups will continue until security and order are re-established in all neighborhoods of Homs and its environs and until we overcome all armed persons terrorizing citizens," an Interior Ministry statement said.

At least 15 people were killed in Homs Tuesday as government forces bombarded Syria's third-biggest city for a fifth successive day, London's Syrian Observatory for Human Rights opposition group said.

At least six others were killed elsewhere in the country, it said.

The casualty reports could not be independently confirmed.

During Lavrov's meeting, he turned to Assad and said: "Every leader of every country must be aware of his share of responsibility. You are aware of yours," RIA Novosti reported.

Assad replied that Syria "does not want to be a burden" to a friendly Russia, the news agency said.

Lavrov also said Assad confirmed he was ready for dialogue with Syria's opposition, but said opposition members were "so far are refusing to talk."

Syria state media had no immediate comment on the meeting, nor did the opposition, which has said it does do not trust the regime and wants Assad to step down.

In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the Obama administration was looking into "providing humanitarian aid" to the Syrian people, but wouldn't say what form such assistance might take.

Carney and State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the administration was not considering armed assistance to the Syrian opposition.

"We never take anything off the table," Nuland told reporters. But "we don't think more arms into Syria is the answer."

Turkey -- a former Assad ally that is now among its harshest critics -- threw its weight behind a new international effort to force Assad to halt the violence.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara could not stay silent after the "fiasco" of the Russian and Chinese veto of an Arab League-backed U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Assad's anti-protester crackdown and calling for him to be replaced by a unity government.

Erdogan said Ankara would "launch a new initiative with countries that stand by the Syrian people instead of the regime." He didn't elaborate.

Germany, France, Spain and Belgium said Tuesday they withdrew their ambassadors from Syria.

Six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- said they too withdrew their ambassadors and expelled Syria's envoys because the Assad regime had rejected Arab attempts to "solve this crisis and prevent the bloodshed of the Syrian people."

Washington closed its embassy in Damascus Monday, recalling Ambassador Robert Ford and the rest of the staff. The Polish Embassy now represents U.S. interests in Syria, the State Department said.